Nigeria and China on Tuesday began to put finishing touches to the multi-billion dollar oil deals both countries had initiated, and which will see Chinese firms invest heavily in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said it is not true that the federal government is working against the people of the Niger Delta region.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday condemned in strong terms, the renewed hostilities by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). The group at the weekend claimed responsibility for the bombing of Bonny pipeline in Rivers State.
Crude oil export from Nigeria is expected to increase by about 380,000 barrels per day in the next few days, following the expected return of Shell’s Forcados crude pipeline by mid September.
The activities of pipeline vandals and oil thieves are taking a toll on the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as the oil firm suffered 1,447 incidents of pipeline breaches between January and May 2016.
Unrelenting Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Sunday night blasted another gas pipeline operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) apparently in reaction to its being labelled as a band of criminals by the Federal Government.
Hopes for a quick rebound of Nigeria’s crude oil production to pre-January 2016 levels of 2.2 million barrels per day, suffered another setback at the weekend following the attack on the pipeline operated by Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), and resulting in the loss of 10,000 barrels per day (b/d).
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has announced that the country’s oil production has risen to about 1.9 million barrels per day, b/d, from 1.6 million b/d, due to repairs and more than a week having passed since a major pipeline attack in the Niger Delta region.
Africa’s richest man and owner of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said that ongoing $17 billion Gas pipeline, fertiliser, petrochemicals and refineries project at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), Lagos, would provide unhindered availability of petrol in the country. He pointed out the the Gas pipeline when completed would also generate power for the country.
Niger Delta militants last night blew up another pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at Chanomi Creeks in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Another setback hit the nation’s oil production yesterday as the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), blew up a facility belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the main gas pipeline which provides electricity to the Escravos tank farm in Delta State.
Suspected militants have attacked and set ablaze a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) at Ikienghenbiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Council of Bayelsa State. 
While Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) works towards the rehabilitation of the Forcados Export Terminal pipeline damaged by vandals, Nigeria would have lost about 25 million barrels of crude oil before it’s repaired.
Following the commencement of the new price regime for Petroleum products, the federal government yesterday disclosed that it did not pay any subsidy on products in January 2016, despite having paid about N1.1 trillion in 2015.
